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Abstract:

A method of generating integrated metadata. The method includes receiving
metadata about second contents including content access information for
accessing the second contents from one or more content providers, which
provide the second contents generated by changing at least one of
quality, viewing cost, viewing time, and content providing method of at
least one piece of first content; and generating integrated metadata
using the received metadata about the second contents.

Claims:

1. A method of generating integrated metadata, the method
comprising:receiving metadata about second contents including content
access information for accessing the second contents from at least one
content provider, which provides the second contents that are generated
by changing at least one of quality, viewing cost, viewing time, and a
content providing method of at least one piece of first content;
andgenerating by a computer integrated metadata using the received
metadata about the second contents.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the content access information comprises
at least one of content broadcasting information, which comprises
information about viewing time of the second contents and a broadcast
channel for viewing the second contents, and a uniform resource locator
(URL) address accessible to the second contents.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating of the integrated
metadata comprises generating the integrated metadata having a form
classified according to at least one standard, wherein standards comprise
quality of each of the second contents, a content providing method of
each of the second contents, a type of a broadcast channel providing each
of the second contents, and performance characteristics of a device that
will reproduce the second contents.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one standard is determined
based on an input of a user or analysis of the second contents pre-viewed
by the user.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a content
recommendation list including at least one content identifier that
identifies at least one piece of first content before receiving the
metadata.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the integrated metadata comprises:common
metadata comprising information that is common between the metadata of
the second contents and the metadata of the at least one piece of first
content;specialized metadata comprising information other than the common
metadata; anda content identifier for identifying each of the second
contents.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the specialized metadata comprises at
least one of the content access information, quality of each of the
second contents, viewing cost, a content providing method, capacity, a
bit rate, a screen size during reproduction, and information about a
codec required for reproduction.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:receiving the metadata about
the second contents from the content providers, after the integrated
metadata is generated;classifying the received metadata about the second
contents into the common metadata and the specialized metadata;
andupdating the generated integrated metadata based on a result of
classification.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the content providing method comprises a
method of providing the second contents in a video on demand (VOD)
format, a method of providing the second contents in a broadcast content
format, and a method of providing the second contents in a downloadable
format.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one content provider
comprises at least one of a server for providing terrestrial broadcast
content, a server for providing cable broadcast content, a server for
providing satellite broadcast content, a server for providing digital
multimedia broadcasting (DMB) content, and a web server.

11. An apparatus for generating integrated metadata, the apparatus
comprising:a processor executing software modules; anda memory storing
the software modules, wherein the software modules comprise:a metadata
receiver which receives metadata about second contents including content
access information for accessing the second contents from at least one
content provider, which provides the second contents generated by
changing at least one of quality, viewing cost, viewing time, and a
content providing method of at least one piece of first content; anda
metadata generator which generates integrated metadata using the received
metadata about the second contents.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the content access information
comprises at least one of content broadcasting information, which
comprises information about viewing time of the second contents and a
broadcast channel for viewing the second contents, and a uniform resource
locator (URL) address accessible to the second contents.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the metadata generator generates
the integrated metadata having a form classified according to at least
one standard, wherein standards comprise quality of each of the second
contents, a content providing method of each of the second contents, a
type of a broadcast channel providing each of the second contents, and
performance of a device that will reproduce the second contents.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the metadata generator generates
the integrated metadata based on an input of a user or analysis on the
second contents pre-viewed by the user.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the metadata receiver receives a
content recommendation list including at least one content identifier
that identifies at least one piece of first content before receiving the
metadata.

16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the integrated metadata
comprises:common metadata comprising information that is common between
the metadata of the second contents and the metadata of the at least one
piece of first content;specialized metadata comprising information other
than the common metadata; anda content identifier for identifying each of
the second contents.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the specialized metadata comprises
at least one of the content access information, quality of each of the
second contents, viewing cost, a content providing method, capacity, a
bit rate, a screen size during reproduction, and information about a
codec required for reproduction.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising, when the metadata
receiver receives the metadata about the second contents from the content
provider after the integrated metadata is generated, a metadata updater
which classifies the received metadata about the second contents into the
common metadata and the specialized metadata, and updates the generated
integrated metadata based on a result of classification.

19. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the content providing method
comprises a method of providing the second contents in a video on demand
(VOD) format, a method of providing the second contents in a broadcast
content format, and a method of providing the second contents in a
downloadable format.

20. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one content provider
comprises at least one of a server for providing terrestrial broadcast
content, a server for providing cable broadcast content, a server for
providing satellite broadcast content, a server for providing digital
multimedia broadcasting (DMB) content, and a web server.

21. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the apparatus is mounted on one of
a television (TV), a personal computer (PC), a portable multimedia player
(PMP), a mobile terminal, and a server.

22. A computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program
for executing the following operations:receiving metadata about second
contents including content access information for accessing the second
contents from at least one content provider, which provides the second
contents that is generated by changing at least one of quality, viewing
cost, viewing time, and a content providing method of at least one piece
of first content; andgenerating integrated metadata using the received
metadata about the second contents.

Description:

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

[0001]This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No.
10-2008-0094255, filed on Sep. 25, 2008, in the Korean Intellectual
Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by
reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002]1. Field of the Invention

[0003]Methods and apparatuses consistent with the present invention relate
to a method and an apparatus for generating integrated metadata.

[0004]2. Description of the Related Art

[0005]Recently, the number of contents accessible to a user has been
increased by geometric progression according to the widespread use of the
Internet and mobile devices.

[0006]The user searches the Internet for content that the user wishes to
view from among various contents.

[0007]For example, when the user wants to watch a drama recently broadcast
on TV, the user types a search word related to the drama in an Internet
search engine. Then, the Internet search engine provides information
related to the search word, and the user may select the drama based on
the provided information.

[0008]Here, the Internet search engine pre-gathers information related to
a predetermined search word, and when the user inputs the predetermined
search word, the Internet search engine provides the pre-gathered
information to the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009]The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for
generating integrated metadata.

[0010]According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
method of generating integrated metadata, the method includes: receiving
metadata about second contents including content access information for
accessing the second contents from one or more content providers, which
provide the second contents generated by changing at least one of
quality, viewing cost, viewing time, and a content providing method of at
least one piece of first content; and generating integrated metadata
using the received metadata about the second contents.

[0011]The content access information may include content broadcasting
information, which includes information about viewing time of the second
contents and a broadcast channel for viewing the second contents, and/or
a uniform resource locator (URL) address accessible to the second
contents.

[0012]In the generating of the integrated metadata, the integrated
metadata having a form classified according to one or more standards is
generated. The standards include quality of each of the second contents,
a content providing method of each of the second contents, a type of a
broadcast channel providing each of the second contents, and performance
characteristics of a device that will reproduce the second contents.

[0013]The standard or standards may be determined based on an input of a
user or analysis of the second contents pre-viewed by the user.

[0014]The method may further include receiving a content recommendation
list including at least one content identifier that identifies at least
one piece of the first content before receiving the metadata.

[0015]The integrated metadata may include: common metadata that includes
information that is common between the metadata of the second contents
and the metadata of the at least one piece of first content; specialized
metadata including information other than the common metadata; and a
content identifier for identifying each of the second contents.

[0016]The specialized metadata may include at least one of the content
access information, quality of each of the second contents, viewing cost,
a content providing method, capacity, a bit rate, a screen size during
reproduction, and information about a codec required for reproduction.

[0017]The method may further include: receiving the metadata about the
second contents from the content providers, after the integrated metadata
is generated; classifying the received metadata about the second contents
into the common metadata and the specialized metadata; and updating the
generated integrated metadata based on a result of classification.

[0018]The content providing method may include a method of providing the
second contents in a video on demand (VOD) format, a method of providing
the second contents in a broadcast content format, and a method of
providing the second contents in a downloadable format.

[0019]One or more content providers may include at least one of a server
for providing terrestrial broadcast content, a server for providing cable
broadcast content, a server for providing satellite broadcast content, a
server for providing digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) content, and a
web server.

[0020]According to another aspect of the present invention, there is
provided an apparatus for generating integrated metadata, the apparatus
including: a processor executing software modules and a memory storing
the software modules. The software modules include a metadata receiver
which receives metadata about second contents including content access
information for accessing the second contents from one or more content
providers, which provide the second contents generated by changing at
least one of quality, viewing cost, viewing time, and a content providing
method of at least one piece of first content; and a metadata generator
which generates integrated metadata using the received metadata about the
second contents.

[0021]The apparatus may further include, when the metadata receiver
receives the metadata about the second contents from the content provider
after the integrated metadata is generated, a metadata updater which
classifies the received metadata about the second contents into the
common metadata and the specialized metadata, and updates the generated
integrated metadata based on a result of classification.

[0022]According to another aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a
program for executing the method of above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023]The above and other aspects of the present invention will become
more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with
reference to the attached drawings in which:

[0024]FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating integrated
metadata, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0025]FIG. 2 is a diagram for describing the structure of integrated
metadata according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0026]FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of updating integrated
metadata, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0027]FIG. 4 is a flowchart for describing an exemplary use of integrated
metadata generated according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention;

[0028]FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for generating
integrated metadata according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention; and

[0029]FIG. 6 is a diagram for describing an exemplary use of an apparatus
for generating integrated metadata, according to an exemplary embodiment
of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0030]Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more fully with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of
the invention are shown. The present invention may, however, be embodied
in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to
the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary
embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and
complete and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those
skilled in the art, and the present invention will only be defined by the
appended claims.

[0031]FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating integrated
metadata, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0032]In operation 110, a content recommendation list including at least
one content identifier is received. The content identifier identifies at
least one piece of the first content information such as a movie or a TV
show.

[0033]The content recommendation list is received so as to generate
integrated metadata by only using information related to content included
in the content recommendation list according to an exemplary embodiment
of the present invention.

[0034]Here, the content identifier may be a combination of numbers and
characters or a name of the content. Also, the content recommendation
list may be received from a predetermined server or a third person
connected via a peer-to-peer (P2P) network.

[0035]According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention,
the integrated metadata may be generated by using information about
content that is not included in the content recommendation list. Also,
the integrated metadata may be generated by using information about
predetermined contents without receiving the content recommendation list.

[0036]In operation 120, metadata about second contents including content
access information for accessing the second contents is received from
content providers providing the second contents generated by changing at
least one of quality, viewing cost, viewing time, and a content providing
method for at least one piece of first content corresponding to the at
least one content identifier included in the content recommendation list.

[0037]The content providers provide such second contents, generated by
changing the first content, so as to provide content having desired
quality at a desired time according to a desired content providing
method.

[0038]For example, when the first content is broadcast content about a
football game that was broadcast for free on a channel of a terrestrial
broadcasting station, a content provider may provide low quality
broadcast content to a user having a mobile terminal that can only
reproduce low quality content, or provide the broadcast content with a
fee in a video on demand (VOD) format even after the broadcasting of the
broadcast content is over, when a user, who could not view the broadcast
content at the time the broadcast content was originally broadcast, wants
to view the broadcast content in the VOD form.

[0039]As described above, the content providers provide a plurality of
second contents with respect to one piece of the first content, for
example, low quality second content and the second content having a VOD
format.

[0040]As such, the second content is generated by changing the first
content, and thus the first content may be referred to as original
content and the second content may be referred to as changed content.

[0041]The content providers may include a server for providing terrestrial
broadcast content, a server for providing cable broadcast content, a
server for providing satellite broadcast content, a server for providing
digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) content, and a web server. The
content providers may provide the second contents in a VOD format, a
broadcast content format, or a downloadable format.

[0042]Meanwhile, for the user to view the second contents, the content
access information for accessing each of the second contents is required.

[0043]For example, for the user to view the second content in the VOD
format, the user must be aware of a uniform resource locator (URL)
address for accessing the second content in the VOD format.

[0044]Accordingly, the user is provided with the metadata about the second
content including the content access information for obtaining from the
content providers the second content.

[0045]Here, the content access information may include content
broadcasting information, which includes viewing times for the second
contents, information about viewable broadcast channels for the second
contents, and URL addresses for accessing the second contents.

[0046]In operation 130, the integrated metadata is generated by using the
metadata about the second contents.

[0047]The metadata about the second contents may have various forms since
the metadata is received from various types of content providers, and in
operation 130, the integrated metadata having one form is generated by
using the metadata having various forms.

[0048]In an exemplary embodiment, one piece of integrated metadata is
generated by unifying the various forms of the metadata about the second
contents, and thus the user may obtain the content access information for
accessing the second contents through the integrated metadata, without
searching for each of the metadata for the second contents.

[0049]An exemplary structure of the integrated metadata generated
according to the exemplary method of FIG. 1 will now be described with
reference to FIG. 2.

[0050]FIG. 2 is a diagram for describing integrated metadata according to
an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0051]FIG. 2 illustrates integrated metadata generated by using metadata
about second contents corresponding to one piece of first content.

[0052]Referring to FIG. 2, the integrated metadata includes a content
identifier 210, a series identifier 220, common metadata 230, content
access information that includes first content access information 241,
second content access information 242, and nth content access information
243, and specialized metadata that includes first specialized metadata
251, second specialized metadata 252, and third specialized metadata 253.

[0053]The content identifier 210 indicates an identifier of the first
content.

[0054]For example, when the first content is broadcast content about a
drama broadcasted on a channel of a terrestrial broadcasting station, the
content identifier 210 may be a combination of numbers and characters to
identify the drama, or the title of the drama.

[0055]When the first content is one of contents in series, the series
identifier 220 indicates an identifier for specifying the series.

[0056]For example, when the first content is one part of a 16-part drama
that forms 16 contents, the series identifier 220 includes an identifier
for specifying the 16-part drama, and the content identifier 210 includes
an identifier corresponding to a particular part.

[0057]When the series identifier 220 is a serial drama such as "Prison
Break", the content identifier 210 may identify a first episode of
"Prison Break".

[0058]As described above, the series identifier 220 may be the title of
the drama or a combination of numbers and characters to identify the
drama.

[0059]However, when the first content is a single piece of content instead
of one part of serial contents, the series identifier 220 does not exist.

[0060]The common metadata 230 is formed of information that is common
between metadata about the second contents and metadata about the first
content.

[0061]For example, when the first content is about a movie, information
about actors, the producer, the director, the synopsis, and the running
time of the movie are common with the metadata about the second contents,
and thus such information may be included in the common metadata 230.

[0062]The content access information 241, 242, and 243 include information
for accessing each of N second contents.

[0063]The specialized metadata 251, 252, and 253 include information other
than the common metadata 230, from among metadata of each of the N second
contents.

[0064]For example, the first content access information 241 may include
URL information for accessing second content having a VOD format. The
first specialized metadata 251 may include information indicating that
the second content accessible by using the first content access
information 241 has a VOD format, is provided for free, and is of low
quality.

[0065]As such, the content access information 241, 242, and 243 include
information for accessing each of the N second contents, and the
specialized metadata 251, 252, and 253 includes information not included
in the common metadata 230, such as information about quality, viewing
cost, a content providing method, capacity, a bit rate, a screen size
during reproduction, and a codec required for reproduction of each of the
N second contents.

[0066]However according to another exemplary embodiment, the specialized
metadata 251, 252, and 253 may include the content access information
241, 242, and 243.

[0067]Meanwhile, the integrated metadata illustrated in FIG. 2 may be in
an extensible markup language (XML) format or a text format.

[0068]Also, the integrated metadata may be in a binary format or a bitmap
format such as a hexadecimal format. In this case, a database about
information included in the integrated metadata is pre-generated, and a
value corresponding to a predetermined piece of the information in the
database is indicated in a bitmap format.

[0069]For example, when a name of some actor is to be indicated in the
common metadata 230 of the integrated metadata, a value corresponding to
the name in the database may be indicated in the integrated metadata in a
bitmap format, instead of providing the name as text information.

[0070]Alternatively, the integrated metadata may be divided into a
particular structure based on a standard. The standard may be set by
information such as quality of each of the second contents, a content
providing method of each of the second contents, a type of a broadcast
channel providing each of the second contents, and performance
characteristics of a device to reproduce each of the second contents.

[0071]Here, the standard may be determined based on an input of a user or
on analysis about the second contents that are pre-viewed by the user.

[0072]For example, when the user sets viewing cost of the second content
as a standard, the integrated metadata may be generated after being
divided into metadata about the second contents that are free and
metadata about the second contents that are not free.

[0073]Alternatively, when most of the second contents pre-viewed by the
user have a VOD format, the integrated metadata may be generated after
being divided into metadata about the second contents in the VOD format
and metadata about the second contents not in the VOD format.

[0074]As described above, when the integrated metadata has a form divided
according to a predetermined standard, the user can easily search for
desired information in the integrated metadata. According to another
exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the integrated metadata
including only specific information divided according to a predetermined
standard may be generated.

[0075]In the exemplary embodiment, the integrated metadata corresponding
to one piece of first content is illustrated, but the integrated metadata
may be generated for a plurality of first contents.

[0076]The generated metadata may be updated with new information.

[0077]FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of updating integrated
metadata, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0078]In operation 310, metadata about second contents is received from
content providers, after integrated metadata is generated.

[0079]Here, the metadata about the second contents may be received at
uniform intervals after the integrated metadata is generated.

[0080]In operation 320, the received metadata about the second contents is
classified into common metadata and specialized metadata.

[0081]In operation 330, the integrated metadata is updated based on a
result of classification.

[0082]In detail, information classified to be included in the common
metadata from among the metadata about the second contents received from
the content providers is added to the common metadata of the integrated
metadata, and other information is added to the specialized metadata of
the integrated metadata.

[0083]FIG. 4 is a flowchart for describing an exemplary use of integrated
metadata generated according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention.

[0084]In operation 410, a user selects content desired to be viewed.

[0085]Here, the user may select the content by searching for the content
in the Internet or according to a recommendation of friends.

[0086]In operation 420, it is determined whether the content selected by
the user is currently being broadcast and/or played.

[0087]For example, the user wants to view a football game that was to be
broadcast in a channel of a terrestrial broadcasting station, and it is
determined whether the football game is currently being broadcast or is
over in operation 420.

[0088]Here, when the selected content is currently being broadcast, the
user may directly view the selected content.

[0089]When the selected content cannot be currently viewed (when it is not
being broadcast at the present time), the user searches for content
access information for accessing changed contents generated by changing
at least one of quality, viewing cost, viewing time, and a content
providing method of the selected content from integrated metadata.

[0090]Here, the selected content corresponds to the first content
described above, and the changed contents correspond to the second
contents described above.

[0091]In operation 440, the integrated metadata including the content
access information for accessing the changed contents is output.

[0092]In operation 450, the user views one of the changed contents by
using the output integrated metadata.

[0093]For example, when the user wants to view broadcast content about the
football game that was to be broadcast on the channel of the terrestrial
broadcasting station, the output integrated metadata may indicate a
channel number of a cable TV that re-broadcasts the football game, a
re-broadcasting time, and a URL address of a site that provides the
football game in a VOD format. The user may view VOD content by
connecting to a URL address for providing the VOD content as one of the
changed contents about the broadcast content, by referring to the
integrated metadata.

[0094]As such, when the integrated metadata is output, the integrated
metadata that only includes specific information according to a standard
set by the user may be output.

[0095]For example, when a mobile device of the user only reproduces low
quality contents, the integrated metadata that only includes information
related to changed low quality contents may be output, and when a user
wants to view changed contents broadcast on a cable broadcasting station,
metadata only including information about a broadcasting time and a
channel of the changed contents broadcast on the broadcasting station may
be output.

[0096]Meanwhile, unlike the exemplary embodiment, when generating the
integrated metadata before the user selects the content, metadata about
the changed content corresponding to the selected content may be received
and the integrated metadata may be generated by using the received
metadata about the changed contents. However in this case, it takes too
long to generate the integrated metadata after the user selects the
content.

[0097]FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus 510 for
generating integrated metadata according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0098]Referring to FIG. 5, the apparatus 510 includes a receiver 512, a
metadata generator 514, and an updater 516.

[0099]The receiver 512 receives metadata about second contents including
content access information for accessing the second contents generated by
changing first content from a plurality of content providers 520, 530,
and 540.

[0100]As described above, the second contents are contents generated by
changing at least one of quality, viewing cost, viewing time, and a
content providing method of at least one piece of first content.

[0101]As illustrated in FIG. 5, the content providers 520, 530, and 540
may include a server for providing a satellite broadcast content, a
server for providing DMB content, and a web server, aside from the
Internet content server 520, the terrestrial broadcasting station 530,
and the cable broadcasting station 540.

[0102]Here, the receiver 512 may receive the metadata about the second
contents from a server for providing only a broadcasting organization
table and an electronic program guide (EPG).

[0103]The Internet content server 520 may provide the second contents in a
VOD format, the terrestrial broadcasting station 530 may provide the
second contents in an terrestrial broadcast content format, and the cable
broadcasting station 540 may provide the second contents in a cable
broadcast content format. Alternatively, the Internet content server 520,
the terrestrial broadcasting station 530, and the cable broadcasting
station 540 may provide various types of second contents.

[0104]The metadata generator 514 generates integrated metadata by using
the metadata about the second contents received through the receiver 512.

[0105]When the receiver 512 receives the metadata about the second
contents from the content providers 520, 530, and 540 after the
integrated metadata is generated, the updater 516 updates the integrated
metadata by using the received metadata about the second contents.

[0106]Here, the updater 516 may classify the received metadata about the
second contents into common metadata and specialized metadata, and update
the integrated metadata based on a result of classification.

[0107]In detail, the updater 516 updates the integrated metadata by adding
information classified to include common metadata from among the metadata
about the second contents received from the content providers 520, 530,
and 540 to the common metadata of the integrated metadata, and adding
other information in the specialized metadata of the integrated metadata.
According to another exemplary embodiment, the updater 516 may be located
in a separate apparatus and not included in the apparatus 510.

[0108]Meanwhile, the apparatus 510 may be installed in a user device, such
as a television (TV), a personal computer (PC), a portable multimedia
player (PMP), or a mobile terminal.

[0109]For example, the TV may generate integrated metadata by using the
apparatus 510, and output the generated integrated metadata on a screen.

[0110]FIG. 6 is a diagram for describing an exemplary use of an apparatus
612 for generating integrated metadata, according to an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention.

[0111]Referring to FIG. 6, the apparatus 612 is installed in a first
server 610, and generates integrated metadata by receiving metadata about
second contents from other servers such as second server 630, third
server 640, and fourth server 650.

[0112]As such, when the apparatus 612 generates the integrated metadata,
the first server 610 transmits the generated integrated metadata to a
user device 620, and the user device 620 outputs the received integrated
metadata.

[0113]In other words, the user device 620 does not participate in
generating the integrated metadata, and only outputs the integrated
metadata received from the first server 610.

[0114]Here, when the user device 620 receives the integrated metadata from
the first server 610, the user device 620 may classify the integrated
metadata according to a standard, such as the quality of each of the
second contents, a content providing method of each of the second
contents, types of broadcast channels providing each of the second
contents, and performance of a device to reproduce each of the second
contents, and then output the integrated metadata accordingly.

[0115]However, according to another exemplary embodiment, the user device
620 may receive the integrated metadata that is already classified
according to such a standard from the first server.

[0116]The exemplary embodiments of the present invention can be written as
computer programs and can be implemented in general-use digital computers
that execute the programs using a computer readable recording medium.
Examples of the computer readable recording medium include magnetic
storage media (e.g., ROM, floppy disks, hard disks, etc.), optical
recording media (e.g., CD-ROMs, or DVDs), and other storage media.
Alternatively, exemplary embodiments of the present invention can be
implemented on a transmission medium such as carrier waves (e.g.,
transmission through the Internet).

[0117]While this invention has been particularly shown and described with
reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by
those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and
details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope
of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The exemplary
embodiments should be considered in descriptive sense only and not for
purposes of limitation. Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined
not by the detailed description of the invention but by the appended
claims, and all differences within the scope will be construed as being
included in the present invention.